Howard to have MRI on aching knee

PHILADELPHIA — A little season-threatening left knee ailment isn’t going to hinder Ryan Howard’s booming sense of humor. Asked Sunday if there was any one thing about his job that especially triggered his throbbing pain there, Howard had a quick kick of a return at the ready: “Yes,” he said, “doing interviews.”

Alert the medical media.Howard is scheduled for an MRI and complete assessment of his knee Monday, “pretty much just to see if there’s been any drastic changes,” he said. “Then we’ll come up with a plan and go from there.”

The route to wellness apparently could be anything from a brief rest to potential season-ending surgery. As it stands, Howard showed Sunday he can still be a stand-up guy in the clubhouse. Taking his act on the field, however, has become next to impossible, leading to his immediate quest for an answer that perhaps he won’t want to hear.

But any answer is better than doing nothing. Finally, Howard has hit upon that revelation.

“It’s somewhat of a relief,” Howard said after the Phillies had tagged the Atlanta Braves with a 7-3 loss Sunday, “just to finally be able to try to see what’s been going on, and see how I want to approach it and basically just go from there.”

Howard has been dealing with chronic if not consistent pain in his left knee for about two months. He made the decision in May to play through it — and the fact that he was playing well at the time might have factored into that decision — and even continued to try to play after receiving a cortisone shot there last weekend.

That changed Saturday, when Howard went out for warmups then came back in to tell manager Charlie Manuel to remove his name from the lineup.

“There have been times when it’s felt stiff before, but the pain— it was just too much,” Howard said. “To where I knew I wouldn’t be able to go out there and do it. It’s nothing different than what’s already been going on, but it’s been stiff for the past few days — worse than some of the other days.”

Howard is hitting .266 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs, but his production had been tailing off. Since hitting two home runs and spiking his batting average to a season-high .282 against the Mets on June 22, Howard’s average had slipped 16 ticks, and he went homerless since then until his last game Friday night, when he turned on a pitch by lefty Paul Maholm and sent it 450-plus feet deep to right.

He might have been relieved that he didn’t have to run hard after he hit it.

“Even at that moment,” Howard said of the home run, “it was still hurting. Over the course of the last three or four days it had been really tough. The pain was (worse). Once I went out and tried to take ground balls (Saturday), I’d be like, ‘Man, I can’t move or try to go laterally.’ And thinking about trying to run and get out of the box, I’m not going to have anything.

“So instead of continuing to try to push it, I would let (Manuel) know and see what they wanted to do.”

Howard said he’s also been bothered by a problem with the bottom of his left foot, but considers it to be more an added distraction than anything.

“That’s uncomfortable,” he said. Then, with a reference to the injury which ended his and the Phillies’ 2011 season, Howard added, “It’s not my ankle. I repeat, it’s not my ankle.

“So that’s just something that’s different,” Howard said, “but the knee has been the forefront of all the stuff going on.”

NOTES: Darin Ruf, a day after his hairy journey through a crowded parking lot in Moosic, Pa., and down the Northeast Extension to get to Citizens Bank Park in time for a couple of at-bats Saturday night, had a double in two at-bats and scored two runs Sunday. That spurred Manuel to continue to promote his use as a Howard replacement. “He played fine,” Manuel said of Ruf. “He did good. He had a big hit there today. He’s going to get a lot of playing time there, more than likely. It’s why we called him up.” ... Erik Kratz, on the disabled list since June 9 with a meniscus tear in his left knee, will get a rehab assignment Monday with Class AAA Lehigh Valley. Pitcher Jeremy Horst is also scheduled to be there for a rehab assignment.